


stepping stones

by timefornothing



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M, M/M, Mutual Pining, fluff mostly, implied nishinoya, lots of practice, rom com set up, volleyball lingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-19 08:25:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10636077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timefornothing/pseuds/timefornothing
Summary: Since the graduation of the third years, Karasuno's defense has been less than stellar. At the end of his rope, Ukai Keishin is close to desperate when a new face offers to help. Eager to do anything to get his team back in shape before the fall tournaments, he readily agrees, and the rigorous practices begin. In between long nights and early mornings, he begins to feel something he hasn't felt in quite some time for the mysterious ex-volleyball player turned assistant coach. But he's not the only one with romance in the air; Hinata and Tobio have been pushing themselves to their limit to help the team to victory, and with the new stress, their partnership is put to the test, and old feelings see a new light.





	1. take it all or leave me alone

**Author's Note:**

> i saw a hallmark movie with a plot almost exactly like this, so
> 
> all volleyball lingo is from my own experience (including some inspiration for the kagehina relationship) 
> 
> comments are nice :)

The ball slammed into the court for the fifth time in a row, the sound echoing off the high walls of the gymnasium.

"Alright, alright, quit it! Cut it out!" Ukai Keishin barked, one hand going to massage the bridge of his nose. Beside him, Daichi winced, and Asahi, up on the stool on the opposite side of the net, gripped the ball in his hands worriedly.

On his side, the starting line up slowly turned to face their coach. Everyone was panting, sweat rolling down their backs in the late spring heat. At the net, Tsukishima kept his head facing downwards while Hinata, at middle back, glared at their coach--not in anger, just waiting for instruction and ready to push himself even harder.

But that was the thing. Ukai had run out of things to say.

The third years had graduated last year after nationals, moving on in their lives and leaving holes in the team. They still had Nishinoya at libero-- _thank God_ \--but with them, they took their reliable defense. While the team now was still great offense wise, they had been a little lacking in the defensive department, as they had seen at a practice scrimmage last week with Nekoma. Practices had been lackluster, and Daichi, Suga, and Asahi had volunteered to come down on their free time to help out.

Yet it still wasn't working.

No matter the drills he had put them through, they couldn't figure it out. Ukai had to admit, he'd been a mostly offensive setter when he himself had played, and mostly a benchwarmer at that, and he couldn't help but feel like his lack in technique was shining through now. Sure, he could ask some of the other adults he played with, but none of them had played beyond high school. What he wouldn't give to have some sort of professional libero drop through the roof right now--

"Alright, I think--I think we've done about all we can do today." Ukai sighed, dropping his hand back down to his side as he looked at his team. They all looked back--some annoyed, some embarrassed, some determined--and nodded as he waved to dismiss them. "It's still early, but feel free to stay and work on your own things. Daichi, drop off the key at the store. Don't forget about morning practice in two days!"

They all called back various goodbyes as he left unceremoniously, snorting to himself as Hinata's usual shout echoed around.

"Kageyama! Toss to me!"

It wasn't a long walk to his store in town, but he regretted that he had to take a shift that was only a couple hours. Ukai had recently let someone go--a high school kid who couldn't be bothered to show up on time--and now he was filling in extra shifts until they found someone else. There was another new girl--only a few years younger than he was, probably--but she hadn't been around enough to close up yet. Since they were in between major tournaments, he had the time, but it left a bitter feeling in his stomach, especially when his team wasn't at their best.

The door jingled as he walked in, prompting the call from one side of the store.

"Hello! Welcome--oh, it's just you, Ukai."

He looked up as he stepped behind the desk, smirk already on his face. The newer girl stepped around from behind one of the aisles, a broom in hand as she wiped the other on her apron. Fujii Haru had just moved back to town recently from Tokyo and was staying with her grandparents until she found a place of her own. The store position was just temporary as well, as she was quick to reassure Ukai's grandma when she was being hired, but her claims were ignored as his grandma announced that she'd be sticking around for quite some time.

"I told you, call me Keishin," Ukai called back as he dropped his bag behind the counter. He grabbed his apron off the rack, turning around just in time to see her roll her eyes at him.

"Not until you call me Haru." A long strand of her black hair had fallen out of her messy bun, and she pushed it behind her ear. "What are you doing here? Gram said you had practice tonight." She turned back to continue her sweeping, taking her back around the store.

In addition to his grandma insisting she was there to stay, she had been quick to practically claim Fujii as her new granddaughter and refused to be called anything but Gram. Maybe that was part of the reason Ukai had been so insistent on sticking with her last name.

"Yeah, left early because I had to close up here." He plopped himself down in his usual seat, swiping a hand down his face. Today's practice had been draining. Maybe it was because he had seen the look of determination in his team's eyes no matter how many times they fell, maybe it was because he hadn't had a smoke in close to three days, maybe it was because seeing Daichi's eternal concern over and over was exhausting--it was any of those reasons, if not all. He personally was banking on the no smoking reason. Quitting was a bitch.

"Hard practice?"

Startled, he looked up, seeing that Fujii's sweeping had brought her back around to in front of the counter. She had leaned the handle on her shoulder, looking at him with a single raised eyebrow above her grey eyes. 

"You could say that," He groaned, leaning forward onto his elbows. "For some reason, the defense just isn't clicking, no matter how many times we run it. They aren't getting there fast enough, or when they do, it shanks completely to the other side of the gym, or they get there and they get it, and then everyone is so shocked that they forget to cover for a block." He groaned, dropping his face into his hands. "What I wouldn't give to be able to talk to someone who played defense professionally."

"I did."

Ukai's eyes widened, and he snapped his head up to look at Fujii. She shrugged nonchalantly when he kept staring at her. "I played for the Seagulls. I thought Gram told you?"

"The Gulls?" Ukai's brows rose as well now. "You played for a professional volleyball team?" How old was she?! He was 26, and she couldn't be much younger than him. What was she doing here instead of playing? "Why aren't you still?"

He saw her mouth twist before she answered shortly, "Difficulties with a coach. But I did, I started for them right out of high school as a DS."

A defensive specialist. Karasuno didn't have one of those. It was like a libero, but they wore the regular jersey. They played back row, normally for players who were good up front and not behind the ten foot line, and would rotate in to serve until their position went back up front. Ukai eyed Fujii, sizing her up. She was short, like most defensive players were, with a solid base. She looked like she was still relatively in shape, so it couldn't have been that long ago that she left.

His gaze slid back up to her face, where he found an expression not that unlike one of annoyance. _Did she think I was checking her out? Well, I was, but not like that! Shit--_ Quickly, he stammered out, "And you could help? I mean, would you be willing to come take a look at least?"

She smirked. "That desperate, huh?"

He didn't see the point in lying. "Honestly, yes."

She watched him for a second more, then shrugged, turning back to her sweeping. "Yeah, I could. I mean, wouldn't hurt to see what's going on." She swept a few things out the front door, then continued her lap around the other side. "You might not like what I have to say, though."

He sighed in relief, sagging onto the desk. "Can't be worse than what I've already thought." Her bright laugh echoed in response, and he put his forehead on the desk, fingers twitching. 

Well, that was one thing out of the way.

\-----

"Just a couple more!"

"Daichi senpai, please, just one more--"

"Nope, no, you're done." Daichi kept his firm grip on their shirt collars as he drug them out of the building. Behind him, Sugawara hid his giggles and turned off the lights before following them out. He threw the two boys forward, turning to lock the door. "If you two had your way, you'd be here all night."

Hinata immediately jumped up off the ground, fist raised. "Would not!" Kageyama followed more slowly, eyes focusing on wiping the dirt off his shorts.

Daichi crossed his arms in response. "Would too. Now go on, it's late. Go rest up tomorrow and be ready for your morning practice. Something tells me it's going to be a rough one." Suga nodded in agreement, then threw up a hand to wave goodbye.

"We'll see you next week! Don't get too worked up!" Daichi shot him a look, but Suga just grinned, pulling him away and towards where they had left their car from their drive back in town. 

Hinata let out a shout and kicked at some dirt, looking woefully at the locked door. "We were so close to it, I could feel it!" He sagged dramatically, "I feel like we're never going to get it right."

"Not if you keep whining about it like that," Kageyama replied stonily, making Hinata turn to him. 

"What's that supposed to mean!"

"Negativity will only make you focus on the bad parts. If you keep focusing on the bad, you won't be able to do the good." He grabbed his bag and turned to begin his walk home, letting out a little puff of breath. Behind him, he could hear Hinata hurry to gather up his things, and he shrugged down deeper into his jacket. While it was much warmer during the days now, the nights were still cold. Considering Daichi had stopped them before they could do a cool down, he'd have to be sure to stretch when he got back.

"When did you learn to be so deep, Kageyama?" Hinata teased as he finally caught up. "Did you see that in a fortune cookie or something?"

Kageyama frowned, "No!"

Hinata leaned forward, smug smile in place as they reached his bike. "Daichi said that to you sometime, didn't he?" Kageyama's silence was all the answer he needed, and he laughed brightly, the sound echoing around the courtyard.

"Keep your voice down, you're going to wake someone up," Kageyama hissed as Hinata climbed onto his bike, which only made Hinata laugh harder.

"Goodbye, Daichi's copycat!" He waved one hand behind him, almost making him wobble and lose his balance as the bike wavered off to the side. He quickly righted himself and rode off into the night, leaving Kageyama to watch after him. Once he was far enough away, Kageyama let the frown fade, another sigh slipping past his lips. 

Infuriating. That's what he was.

He watched until he couldn't see the orange spot of hair anymore, then finally turned to head towards his own home.

Yeah. Infuriating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahahahahahaha what is this


	2. just like the maestro beats in his songs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the chapter titles are all from the song 'stepping stone' by duffy btw

"Morning practices are the woooooorst," Tanaka groaned, stifling a yawn. Beside him, Nishinoya remained laying on his back, eyes closed.

"Especially without the third years."

"Yeah?" Tanaka lifted an eyebrow, looking at Nichinoya. "All the third years, or one in particular?"

Instantly, he blushed, making Ennoshita and Tanaka laugh loudly. Next to them, Yamaguchi startled awake, nearly knocking over Hinata in the process. He ran into Kageyama, who sniffed and shoved him away.

A loud clap brought their attention to the doors, where Coach Ukai stood with his hands raised. "Team! Gather up!" Slowly and stiffly, the team turned and walked over, a few of them shooting looks of worry at each other. They weren't about to go run outside as punishment for the other day, were they?

"Good morning!" Ukai called brightly, and the team grumbled their response. Yamaguchi shot Hinata a look, who shrugged in response. They hadn't expected him to be this upbeat after the way Tuesday's practice ended. Ukai smirked, looking at each one in turn. "As I'm sure all of you remember, practices have been rough lately, especially our last one." A couple of them winced and looked away, and he continued quickly, not wanting to dampen their spirits before they even started this morning. "But no more! From now on, we'll be getting better, because we finally have someone who specializes in what we're lacking." Without waiting, he stepped aside, gesturing. "Allow me to introduce Fujii Haru, former defensive specialist for the Okayama Seagulls!"

Fujii stepped into the doorway, squinting a bit as the lighting changed. "Hello!"

You could practically hear Tanaka and Nishinoya's jaws hit the floor. Yamaguchi's face turned beet red, and even one of the first years squeaked a bit. 

"Hello, Fujii Sensei!" Ennoshita started shakily, and the rest of the team called back as well, a few of them stuttering. Ukai was having a hard time keeping his smirk hidden, and if the look on Fujii's face was any indication, she was as well.

"Nice to meet you all!" She grinned, and turned to Ukai, who swallowed his smile before turning to face the team. 

"Fujii here is going to be helping us on our defense! She'll be here to watch today, and if she thinks we need it, she'll be helping to run drills for the next few practices, all the way until we go to play against our friends in Tokyo." Fujii's brow lowered a bit at Ukai's declaration, but he continued on, reminding himself that he needed to convince her to stick around. After she saw them practice, it probably wouldn't be too hard. "So! Go ahead and get warmed up, and we'll be starting with a mock game so she can see what we can do." 

Ennoshita turned, gesturing as he called out, and the team took off to start warm ups. Ukai and Fujii walked over to the side of the court, and she lifted one corner of her mouth as she told him, "Didn't realize I was going to stay all summer."

Ukai attempted to keep his annoyance hidden, "I'm sure you'll see why soon." She smiled again, but didn't say anything else.

Ennoshita divided them up on either side of the net based on position, and soon, the scrimmage began. It was clear from the first serve receive that there was plenty to work on. Ukai watched as Fujii's eyes followed the ball for the most part, but would linger on certain players. The longer she watched, the lower her brows moved, and eventually, she had her arms crossed on her chest and one hand pressed to her mouth.

When one of the teams hit 20, he asked quietly, "See what I mean?"

She snorted. "They're not bad."

"Not bad, sure." He looked back to Hinata, who was scrambling to stand after his poor reception of one of Tsukki's hits. "But we can be better." 

"So do you want me to just go in on them, or should we do some drills first before I tear them up?"

Ukai's eyebrows lifted quickly, but calmed down once he saw the teasing look she had on her face. He sighed, "Drills, probably. They do better when you talk to them individually, not in front of the group."

Fujii nodded slowly, and he called it at 23 points.

"Alright, gather back up!" The team slowly assembled in front of them, a few of the boys looking like they already knew what she was going to say. Ukai looked to Fujii, who seemed surprised that he was letting her take the lead.

"Oh--well, overall, you're not that bad." Kageyama made a face, and she bit back a smile. "But I do see some areas of improvement. Here, how about we start with a butterfly drill, and I'll point out some things for you to work on?" The boys stared back blankly, and her shoulders drooped a little. "Do you...know what a butterfly drill is?" She looked to Ukai for help, who shrugged at her. She shot him a look, then turned back to the group. "Well, apparently your coach could use a little help as well." Yachi choked as Ukai's eyebrows shot up, but Fujii was already moving on. 

"Alright, split into two groups again. It won't matter, you'll all be moving around and rotating--" The boys hesitated at first, but soon moved to follow her instructions. The butterfly drill had two areas going at once. One person would serve to someone on the other side of the net, who would receive the pass and send it to the setter, who would then set for them. After they served, they'd move to the line for receiving. Once they hit it, they would go to the opposite side of the net to get in line for serving over there, where the other half was doing the same time on the other side of the net. And they would continue on, rotating in a circle. It took a few tries for them to get it at first, but with Fujii's direction, they soon caught on and it was going--somewhat--smoothly.

"Not all of them can aim when they serve," Ukai hissed to Fujii as she moved around the court, watching.

"Good, they'll learn control at the same time," She shot back, ignoring his look. After they had been going for a couple minutes, she moved to the people waiting in line to serve, pointing out things they had done on their receives that needed improvement. Hinata and Yamaguchi took to the advice the quickest, although surprisingly, it was Tanaka who improved the fastest. He had always been a reliable player, Ukai pondered, watching as he looked with a bright smile to Fujii when he received a serve perfectly. It was mostly his footwork and form that had needed improvement.

Player by player, she spoke to all of them, even having something to say to Nishinoya, who nodded solemnly as she moved on. After about ten minutes of this, she called them all back to her, clapping as they gathered in a half circle.

"Alright, not bad! Most of you know little things you need to work on, which is good, but overall, there's a huge area that I can see everyone needs help in." She smiled. "Speed. So! Time for some conditioning."

"Not the hills," Hinata groaned, unable to help himself, and Kageyama smacked him on the back of the head.

"Hills?" Fujii looked to Ukai, who clarified.

"They usually run the hills around town for conditioning."

Fujii waited a moment, then dipped her head. "And...?"

Ukai blinked. "And what?"

"That's it? Just running long distance?"

"Well, they do diving drills--"

"Oh my god," Fujii smacked her face, then turned with a bright smile to the team. "You boys are going to hate me, but once you play in your first matches, you'll thank me, I promise. Who's ready to get their feet moving?"

Over the next half an hour, Fujii had them doing court sprints, short jumps, countless drills that made them stay on their toes and move faster than they ever had in practice before. Hinata and Nishinoya seemed to do the best with these, although the taller kids like Tsukishima struggled with some of the quicker footwork. Fujii called out times easily, offering encouragements and tips to improve like she had been doing this her whole life. Ukai watched, almost impressed, at how easily she had slid into a coaching role. As his eyes tracked her movements, he almost wondered what his grandfather would say if he could see her.

Halfway through practice, Fujii took her sweats off as she began doing some of the drills with them, and Tanaka immediately face planted onto a stool. Ukai clenched one fist together, bitterly regretting that he had given up smoking. Clearly, she hadn't lost any of her muscle since she had quit, and her thighs could give Daichi's a run for their money.

After that, they moved into drills chasing balls to improve their tracking and speed. After that, it was one where she'd spike ten balls at them in quick succession, which kept Yachi and the ones who weren't going running all over the place to grab the shanked passes. Kageyama smirked consistently as Hinata, since he was mostly at the net as the target to pass to, ran around like a madman trying to collect every ball that went flying away. Each drill seemed to build on the next, and Ukai wondered how he'd never done any of these before.

Fujii continued to surprise him as she corrected the boys on their form, moving easily from one conversation to the next as the hyperactive boys refused to wait their turn. She kept pace easily, sometimes correcting three people at once before turning to hit at Nishinoya again. Every hit was spot on, and he wondered if she had ever played front row as well.

"Coach Ukai? Who is that?"

Ukai turned around as Takeda made his way into the gym, eyes wide behind his glasses. "Takeda!" He waved him over, then pointed to the court, where Nishinoya had just pulled off a rolling thunder. Fujii rolled her eyes but smiled, offering a tip to improve the roll. "That's Fujii Haru. She used to be a defensive specialist for the Seagulls, and she offered to help the team."

"Uh...huh." Takeda nodded slowly, lifting an eyebrow as he turned from the court back to Ukai. "And she's....just coaching them?"

"Yeah! She's come out with plenty of drills that I haven't seen." Ukai couldn't stop the grin from spreading onto his face as he watched Hinata attempt the rolling thunder and ending up colliding with Tsukishima's legs. "These boys are going to be exhausted, but it's definitely worth it. She's incredible."

"Incredible, huh?" Takeda continued watching him. "How long is she going to be here for?"

"Probably until our summer matches with the Tokyo teams, I would think." Ukai rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Ideally, I'd want her to come to every practice, if not just stay on permanently. I've never seen half of these techniques."

"As long as it's just for the coaching," Takeda mused, and Ukai turned to look at him, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing," He sighed quickly, then pointed back to the court. "Is that supposed to be happening?"

Ukai looked back up to find that everyone was lined up on the court, Fujii showing them step by step how to do a proper roll. Hinata was cackling loudly from where he was practically on top of Tanaka, and Tsukishima was frowning with his arms crossed as he sat and watched Yamaguchi flop back onto his back.

"I'm...I'm sure it's for good reason." Ukai shrugged, then waved to Fujii. "Hey! Let's get some other drills going, we have some other stuff we need to practice."

Fujii nodded, helping to pull one of the first years back up before sending them over. Ukai quickly sent them off to do some passing with a partner before waving Fujii over. "Fujii, this is Takeda Ittetsu. Takeda, Fujii Haru."

"Nice to meet you!" Fujii grinned, bowing slightly. "Despite his awful techniques, Ukai here is a decent coach, and he said it's all thanks to you!"

Takeda looked taken aback at her statement, and answered haltingly, "Well, yes, but really, coaching's in his blood. The team wouldn't be anywhere without him."

Fujii shrugged. "We'll see about that. Now, what's the next drill?" She turned away from Takeda and looked to Ukai, who pointed to the court. 

"We'll probably be working on serving, since you mentioned control earlier." He offered an apologetic shrug to Takeda as they walked away, who still looked bothered. Fujii readily offered a tactic, and Ukai turned back to listen to her, pondering over the look Takeda had given him. 

Practice ended an hour later with Ukai praising the improvements they had already made and Fujii reassuring Tanaka that she'd be sticking around to continue helping them. Takeda watched with his arms crossed, more silent than usual as the team was dismissed and moved to pack up. As usual, Hinata and Kageyama made a run for the ball cart, and Yachi followed to toss.

"Do they always stick around after?" Fujii asked as she and Ukai returned to their own belongings. Ukai looked back at his team with a smile, then nodded, reaching for his jacket. 

"Those two never stop, I swear." He turned to Takeda then, smiling. "You two want to go for dinner? I've got some ideas I want to run by, and I'm sure Fujii here has some as well."

Takeda not so subtly slid an assessing look at Fujii, who was only half paying attention to them. "I think I'll pass. Have fun." Reaching for his bag, he made a quick exit, leaving Ukai watching after him. Was it just him, or had he been weird all practice? Shaking it off, he turned back to Fujii. "What about you? Dinner?"

Fujii pulled her attention away from Hinata back to Ukai. "Huh? Oh, uh, sure." She made a face, pulling on her jacket. "Isn't it a little early for dinner?"

Ukai shrugged, making sure to grab his coaching file packet. "So we'll sit around until it's time to eat. I'm sure you've got plenty to say to keep us occupied until then."

Fujii laughed, zipping the jacket up. "Ukai, you know me so well already."

\-----

"Ha!" Hinata swung through the hit, calling out proudly as he landed. "Yes! That was it--oh." His arms dropped limply to his sides as he watched Nishinoya pick up the ball and send it perfectly to Yamaguchi, who was standing in the setter's spot. "I thought I had that one."

"You didn't follow through," Kageyama barked, already turning to Yachi for the next toss. His lips were pressed into a thin line, ignoring the dull aching in his legs from all of the conditioning in his legs. He'd definitely be feeling it tomorrow. 

"Did too!" Hinata frowned, putting his hands on his hips. "I followed through more than usual!"

He ignored Hinata. He'd had enough of the shorter boy today, always jumping right in front of him, always calling his name, always with that stupid little pout on his face-- "No you didn't."

"I did! I did too!" Hinata swung his arm, annoyed and testy after the hard workout today. "If you just watched me for once, you'd see it!"

"I'm always watching you!" Kageyama responded, hands already in position to receive the next toss. "You're always right beside me, we're always together. When am I ever not watching you?"

He saw the expression on Yachi's face first, as he was looking at her for the toss. Her eyebrows lifted slowly but steadily, a light flush of pink spreading across her cheeks. She shot a look across the net to Yamaguchi, who had his hand in front of his mouth. Behind him, Nishinoya had a shit eating grin on his face. Blinking, Kageyama finally turned to look at Hinata. His brown eyes were wide, lips slightly parted as he looked at Kageyama.

Slowly, he stuttered out, "You--You're always watching me?"

Something in the tone of his voice made Kageyama's stomach flip, and he deepened his frown. "Of course I am! What are you talking about? You're a spiker and I'm a setter. Why would I not look to where I'm setting?"

"Oh." Hinata's face dropped a bit. "Yeah, of course."

"Mmhmm, right. That's what he means. Purely in a fellow teammate way." Kageyama shot a look to Nishinoya, who just grinned wider back at him. "Hey, just helping to clarify."

"Yachi, toss," Kageyama growled, and Yachi squeaked, rushing to do so. 

If the next few sets were off because Kageyama refused to look at Hinata, he blamed it totally on Yachi's tossing.

\-----

"No, no, that one should be fine." Fujii shoved aside her drink and reached for Ukai's pen, taking it from his hand. She circled a player on the paper. "Just keep that more flexible, because he'll have to adjust depending on the hitter, you know? Otherwise, this is a good one to practice in."

Ukai grinned at her, watching as she frowned down at the paper. They were two drinks in as it neared dinner time, but she had yet to run out of things to say. Fujii had easily latched onto his topic of rotations, and soon they had two new drills to run with the team. Now, they were working on better ways to receive hits.

"You focus so much on blocking that you forget the rest of the defense," She was telling him, adding another blue arrow to the mess of others on the paper. "Yes, you have the players at the net, but there's three or four more waiting for the hit to come across." Ukai leaned on one hand, making her look up into the silence. "What?"

"How do you keep coming up with this stuff?"

She frowned at him, finally setting down the pen in exchange for taking another drink. "What do you mean?"

"All of it." He gestured to the papers spread all across the table, most of which had notes jotted all across his carefully drawn out plans. "Somehow you seem to have contingency plans for things we've never even considered."

She snorted at him, almost spilling her wine. "It's because men's volleyball is worse than women's."

Ukai sat up straight, immediately on the defensive. "Excuse me?"

She rolled her eyes. "Not like that, you dummy. I mean, all you focus on is power. Sure, you're starting to get it, what, with Yamaguchi's float serves and how you're directing some blocks to Nishinoya, but you're still aiming everything around how hard you can hit the ball." She pointed to a paper they had recently shoved aside. "Look. All of your focus in this rotation is just on how hard your front row can hit the ball and having all your tallest players block. Whatever they miss will be picked up, and you just leave it at that. Whereas in women's volleyball, it's more about strategy. Sure, there's hard hitters, but so much more of the game is decided by which players have better ball control and who can place the ball correctly. You set your players in the right spots to ensure they'll pick up anything. Your hitters come at it so they have more options midair. You change it so that chance balls are just as powerful as your hits. Your defense becomes just as as strong as your offence." She smiled again, once more reaching for her glass. "It's a completely different game."

His was quickly becoming empty, and he knew that she'd be running out soon. He waved the waiter down for another round, then interlaced his hands and set them on the table. "So why'd you quit?"

Immediately, Fujii's smile dropped. "Who said I quit?"

He shrugged, worried about pushing too far. He was still in the middle of trying to convince her to stay on until the Tokyo games, and he didn't want to give her a reason to walk away. "You're, what, 24? You said you started playing straight out of high school, and you only moved back about four months ago. That means you would've only played for them for about six years. Most players don't retire until well into their 40s, sometimes 50s. You were in your prime, and as far as I can tell, there's no injury. Why'd you quit?"

She stared down at her cup, mouth twisted off to one side. She remained silent as the waiter brought their new drinks over, then stated quietly, "I was a starter."

Ukai waited for her to continue, unsure of why she started there. After a deep breath and another drink, she began.

"I started the year after I joined the team. I wasn't a captain, but the other players treated me like I was. They saw my potential, and they trusted my judgement. Since I was in the back row, I had a better view of everything going on around me, and was able to give advice and change things up in the middle of the game. We won tournament after tournament, and they all loved it--everyone except my coach." 

Fujii took another deep breath. "He was stuck in the old way of doing things. Every time I suggested something new, he'd shoot me down, and I can't tell you how many times he benched me mid-game because of things I said. Over the years, it just got worse and worse until he finally threatened to kick me off the team if I didn't quit. I did, for a while, but I couldn't stand it. So I left, and came back home."

Ukai frowned. "Why not try out for another team?"

"He had already warned the other coaches. Told them all I was uncoachable and moody and at risk for a scandal." She smiled bitterly. "I considered going abroad, but he'd taken the fun out of it for me by that point. And what's the point of playing if you don't love it?"

"You still love it."

She looked over at him, and he angled himself towards her. "I could see it today. When you were working with the team, you still love it. The way you talk about it...you know so much about the game. Too much, almost." He laughed lightly, "You and my grandfather are a lot alike, in that way. But I don't think you should give up on it just yet." 

Fujii raised an eyebrow, making him sigh. He looked earnestly at her, again scooting closer. "Stay. Work with the team, all the way until Tokyo. Then you can do whatever. But they need you, they really do. With you working with them, they could win nationals, over and over and over again."

She smiled softly at him, then raised her cup. "Until Tokyo."

Ukai blinked in surprise, then a smile broke across his face, and he hit her cup with his. "Until Tokyo." They both drank, and Ukai looked down at their menus. "So, about dinner."

They stayed and talked until it was late, both of them leaving red in the face and laughing. His folder was now stuffed with new ideas scribbled on napkins, and he held on tightly to it, worried he'd drop it in his tipsy state. He walked her home, then went back to his own, rotations swirling around in his head so quickly he almost missed it when his grandma stopped him on his way up the stairs.

"So how was the date?"

He rolled his eyes at her, sidestepping before taking them two at a time. When would his family stop trying to marry him off? "She's staying until Tokyo, Gram. That's enough for now."

\-----

"Kageyama! Kageyama!"

Kageyama closed his eyes tightly as Hinata's shrill call echoed after him, and swore internally. He was so close to leaving without the shorter boy following behind him, but here he was, still always catching up after. He sighed heavily, turning so that Hinata would stop shouting so loudly.

Hinata skidded to a stop next to him, chest heaving from having run so fast to catch up. Without greeting, he sputtered out, "What did you mean earlier?"

Kageyama paused, looking down at him. In the dim light of the moon, he could barely make out the slight blush that covered Hinata's face. _Probably from just finishing our cool down,_ he told himself, then forced himself to look away from Hinata's mouth and back up to his eyes. "When?"

Hinata hesitated, like he wasn't sure he wanted to say anything, then set his jaw. "When you said you were always watching me."

Kageyama's heart stopped. _Shit,_ he should have known that would come back to bite him. Hinata never let anything go. As dense as he appeared, he could recall just about anything Kageyama had ever said to him, especially in the heat of a match when even Kageyama wasn't totally sure what he was saying. But somehow, Hinata remembered. He always remembered.

"I told you already," He forced himself to look away, over to the bike rack where Hinata's bike was chained up. "It's because you're always in front of me on the court. I look to where I set."

"No you don't," Hinata corrected quickly, moving so he was in his line of sight again. "You don't look because it gives it away to the blockers. They'd block us every time if they knew where we were going."

He ignored the inclusive comments and instead rolled his eyes. "In practice, stupid."

"But that doesn't make sense!" Hinata insisted, brows drawn together. "Ukai sensei said to practice how we play, and if we practice like that, then we'll play like that, and we can't do that because then we'll keep getting blocked--"

"Shut up!" Kageyama shouted, cutting him off. Hinata looked up, surprised, and Kageyama found himself staring into those bgi brown eyes again. "Just shut up! It was something that slipped out, just let it go!"

"Slipped out?" Hinata asked carefully. "So you think about it a lot?"

"Of course I think about you a lot!"

"What?!" Hinata squeaked. "That's not what I asked! Why are you thinking about me!"

Kageyama floundered. He really was just digging his own grave, wasn't he? "Because you're my middle blocker! We're always next to each other! Shut up!"

"I'm not saying anything!"

"Shut up!" Kageyama turned away, practically sprinting towards the street. He had to get out of there before he said something even worse, before he let it slip--

_Stop thinking about it, stop thinking about it, stop thinking about him--SHIT._

He ran almost the whole way home, only pausing when he was in his room with the door closed. Even then, he couldn't forget the way Hinata had looked up at him, eyes wide and unsure.

_"You're always watching me?"_

Kageyama threw himself onto his bed. This was becoming a lot harder to manage than he had planned for.

\-----

Their afternoon practices on Friday and Saturday continued much in the same vein. They'd start with warm ups, work on receiving drills and footwork, and spend the last hour on other things. Even over those two days, Ukai could see improvements. It was in the way Tsukishima stopped hesitating before going to receive a serve, in the way Yamaguchi only tripped over his own feet a few times. Tanaka was quicker to get to a pass, and Nishinoya didn't resort to falling every time one went wayward. Mondays became days just reserved for conditioning, but they had Wednesday for just scrimmaging each other. Fujii jumped in to fill in spots in the rotation when needed, and when the third years came back again that next Tuesday evening, even they saw a difference.

"Nice receive, Tanaka!" Daichi called proudly, and Asahi shot the back row a thumbs up. Suga turned to Ukai, "And this is because of her?"

Ukai looked across the way to Fujii, who was showing Yamaguchi a better way to position his hips. The poor kid was beet red, and Ukai couldn't help but laugh. "Because of her."

The second week went even better than the first, and that was when they began introducing the new plays and positioning to the team that Ukai and Fujii had come up with over dinner. It was a bit rough, but the team quickly picked it up, moving with ease after all of the conditioning. Ukai would catch Fujii's gaze and grin, only for her to return it, usually with a ball at his face as well. Two more weeks passed with his grandmother asking after her, and he always responded with, "Until Tokyo." The summer tournament was in August, and now they were well into June and looking better than ever. He couldn't wait until Nekoma saw them now.

The old third years continued to come around and help when they could, giving more firepower for Fujii to work with. They got along well with her, Daichi even inviting her to go out with them once. She helped them improve as well, and Asahi was happy to report that he was now playing all the way around on his college team while Suga was now a starter. 

Fujii ran practices when Ukai got caught up at the store, and Takeda became more scarce around the gym. She seemed not to notice, telling Ukai he probably just had teacher things to do. It made sense, he supposed, and he'd turn the conversation back to the team. They went out for dinner twice a week now, always starting out as team instructions before turning into personal discussions about each other. It had been the best few weeks Ukai had had in a long time, and he didn't want it to end. There was only one cog in the otherwise well-oiled machine that was giving him any trouble.

Kageyama and Hinata weren't speaking to each other.

As far as he (or anyone else on the team he'd asked) could tell, Kageyama had started it. Apparently, the two boys had stopped staying after to practice their hits as well. It was awkward and tense between them on the court, and no one wanted to get in the middle of it. Unfortunately, it was messing with the flow of the team, and finally, Ukai had enough when Kageyama purposefully didn't set to Hinata six times in a row during a scrimmage.

"That's enough you two," He growled out, stalking towards center court. "Everyone's dismissed, finish your cool down outside. I'll see you tomorrow. You two, stay put." He pointed when they moved, and both scowling, they stopped. Awkwardly, all the other boys left, and Yachi quickly made herself busy in the equipment closet.

Kageyama and Hinata weren't even facing each other, and Ukai stopped in front of them, arms crossed. He could feel Fujii coming up behind him, and he started speaking in a low voice. "Alright. You two have always been one of the best partnerships on the team, but lately it's been off. Either of you two want to tell me what's going on?"

"He started it," Hinata spit out bitterly, which made Kageyama flinch, but he otherwise didn't respond.

Ukai sighed. "Look, I really don't care what you all do outside of here, but in this gym, if it's affecting your play, it becomes my business." Fujii stopped just behind his shoulder, and he could see her out of the corner of his eye, waiting to help, as always. "I was hoping you'd go to your captain, but apparently, both of you are so stubborn that you aren't going to make amends! What would you have done if we would have lost a game because the two of you aren't even talking to each other?"

Both of the boys flinched this time, and Hinata looked up at Ukai, embarrassed. He waited, and finally, Hinata mumbled, "Kageyama stopped talking to me after--after practice one night." He looked down at his feet. "He hasn't talked to me since Fujii sensei's second practice."

Fujii's eyebrows lifted, but she didn't interject. Ukai waited for Kageyama to respond, but the taller boy remained stoicly facing away. 

"Looks like there's only one way to solve this." Ukai sighed, then called over his shoulder. "Yachi!"

Something crashed in the room, and then Yachi scuttled out nervously. "Y-yes?"

"Get out of there." Ukai glared at his players. "We're locking these two in until they sort themselves out." Immediately, both of them looked at him with wide eyes, and he pointed. "Get in. Talk it out. Scream at each other, I don't care. Just figure it out, for the sake of the team." 

Hinata looked woefully at Kageyama, but the other boy just sniffed and moved to make his way to the equipment closet. Slowly, Hinata followed, and Ukai closed the door behind them, only pretending to lock it. Yachi's eyebrows raised, and Ukai spoke--a little too loudly--to her. "Now, Yachi, I'm leaving you with this key. You can only unlock it once they've figured everything out, okay?"

Looking confused, she nodded slowly. "O-okay."

Then he grabbed her and moved away quickly, whispering, "It's not locked. You don't have to stay. I'm going to be working on paperwork over here, so don't worry about them." Even more confused now, Yachi nodded and left to go gather her things. As soon as she was gone, Ukai moved to loosen the net, Fujii following behind him to gather a few stray balls. 

"Locking them in a closet until they get along. Good move, Dad." Her voice carried through the empty gym, the teasing tone he had grown used to making him smile.

Ukai snorted, letting go of the lever. "Don't know what else will work with those two. Things have always been intense between them."

"Oh, I can tell." Fujii raised her eyebrows as she sent the cart rolling away, and Ukai looked at her. 

"What's that tone of voice supposed to mean?"

Fujii shot him a look. "Can you really not tell what's going on between those two?" Ukai blinked at her, and she rolled her eyes. "Right. Well, you miss just about everything else, as well. Not surprised you missed the most obvious one."

He frowned. "What? I don't miss things--"

"Oh, good, you're in here." Takeda's voice echoed over from the door, and Fujii immediately scrunched her nose as she saw him.

"I'm gonna go get a whiteboard," She told him before moving away, offering a simple greeting to Takeda, which he barely returned. Ukai watched her go, perplexed. Miss things? What was he missing?

"Earth to coach."

Ukai snapped his gaze away from the door, looking at an unimpressed Takeda. "Oh, right. You said you were looking for me?"

Takeda lifted an eyebrow, then held out some papers. "We need to go over some things for the Tokyo trip." Ukai took the papers in his hands, half listening to Takeda as he started in on the details. Missing something?

What was he missing?

\-----

As soon as the door clicked behind them and he heard Ukai move away with Yachi, Kageyama sat down on the ground with his head in his hands. This was all his fault. He was letting his head get caught up in unimportant things, worrying about something other than volleyball when he was on the court. He had to learn to stay focused better. He used to be able to, what was going on now? Why was he so distracted now? What was different?

Was it the way he had called them partners? Is that what changed it? Kageyama had always thought of them as teammates, but Hinata called him his partner. Is that what changed it? Is that what made the switch from platonic to--something more?

No use denying it now. Something had changed during their run to nationals, something that Kageyama couldn't quite describe. Hinata changed wildly during the games, growing up and maturing so fast while still staying the same bright eyed and eager little orange spazzball. It made Kageyama's heart twist every time they had made eye contact, and so it was no huge leap to assume that he felt differently about his middle blocker now.

 _A_ middle blocker. _The_ middle blocker. Not his. Never his.

"Tobio?"

Kageyama's head snapped up, eyes adjusting quickly to the darkness. Above him, Hinata stood facing away, looking towards the back of the room. His posture was tense, like he looked in the middle of a game sometimes. Slowly, Hinata asked, "What did I do?"

Kageyama blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Don't play dumb!" Hinata turned, looking down at him with eyes narrowed in anger. "I know I did something! I must have, otherwise you wouldn't be icing me out like this! For some reason, you don't set me as much, you don't talk to me, you stopped looking at me, even--" Hinata cut himself off with a sharp breath, then clenched his fists. "What did I do?"

Looking up at him now, it made more sense. Hinata had grown. Not in height, he was definitely still one of the shortest people in their school, but in character. He'd become stronger, found a more solid base for his confidence. He was able to analyze more now, relying less on his instincts and more on experience. His shoulders had filled out from the rigorous games, giving his t shirts a tighter fit and more tone to his legs. Even in the dark lighting in here, Kageyama could see the beginnings of the baby fat leaving his jawline, a small preview of the man he was going to become. 

He wanted to be around to see it.

Looking back, thinking to when they had first met, at that middle school game and again at Karasuno, he had hated him. Kageyama wanted nothing to do with him whatsoever. As soon as he saw that hit, of course it had become something about usefulness. Hinata was a tool to use to win. And he used his tool well, setting at opportune moments that led to victory after victory after victory. And somewhere in those losses and wins, it had changed. They had become teammates, and then partners. And now...now, what were they? Something closer?

Hinata took his extended silence as a challenge. He dropped down to Kageyama's level, scowling. "Well? What did I do?"

He almost laughed. Somehow, he held back, and instead, Kageyama smirked in disbelief. "You didn't do anything. It was me."

Hinata's face turned to confusion in a split second. "What?"

"It was me. I did something. I...I changed." He put a hand on his chest, unable to look Hinata in the eye as he finally realized. "It's my fault. I changed it."

"But..." Hinata ducked his head, trying to catch his eye. "What did you change?"

Slowly, Kageyama lifted his gaze, staring into Hinata's eyes. He had seen them with so many different emotions, but all of them were always intense. He felt everything to its full extent, and it was no different now. There was an earnestness in his gaze, an eagerness that was always there when it came to Kageyama. It prompted honest answers, and now was no different than every time before Kageyama had confessed to him.

"My feelings for you changed."

Hinata sat back on his feet. "Oh. So...you hate me."

"What?" Kageyama sat up sharply, confused. "No, not at all. The opposite, actually." Now it was Hinata's turn to look confused, and Kageyama continued quickly, eager to get this over with. "I like you, Hinata. I...think I always did, but now it's--" He shook his head. "I'm always watching you. I can't stop. You're all I watch, on the court and off. That's what I meant."

"So why did you stop looking at me?"

Kageyama crinkled his nose. "Because you weren't supposed to find out. It was supposed to be a secret, I wasn't going to let it change anything, especially since it being unreciprocated would just make things awkward--"

"Unreciprocated?"

Kageyama rolled his eyes. "It means you don't return the feelings. I--"

"I know what it means, Tobio." Hinata's sternness caught his attention, and he looked back in surprise to find Hinata watching him carefully. "What do you mean I don't like you back?"

Kageyama paused. "Because...you said we were partners."

Hinata laughed loudly, making Kageyama frown. "What's so funny?"

"Kageyama, I--" He wheezed a bit, holding his stomach. "I meant it. We are partners. In everything. On and off the court. And I don't want it any other way." He offered a smile when Kageyama blushed. "I like you, too, Tobio."

Kageyama had one second to blink in astonishment before Hinata pushed forward, grabbing his face and kissing him. Kageyama kissed him back, hands moving instinctively to wrap around the smaller boy and hold him close.

As the warmth spread across his cheeks, Kageyama thought to himself, maybe being stuck in a closet with this idiot wasn't the worst idea Ukai had had.

\-----

"Ukai? Ukai, are you even listening?"

Ukai blinked quickly, looking away from a note Fujii scribbled on a paper back to Takeda. "Sorry, bus arrangements. We could probably get the same driver--"

Takeda frowned. "That was two conversations ago. What's going on with you lately? Your head's stuck in the clouds all day and you're barely running practices anymore."

Ukai frowned back at him, confused. "What are you talking about? I'm fine. I run practices."

"No, Fujii's been running them. She's practically head coach by now."

Ukai waved him off, "She's just running a few drills with the boys--"

"Speaking of Fujii," Takeda cut him off sharply, voice echoing in the now empty gym. Ukai paused, concerned at the look Takeda was giving him. "I don't think it's a good idea to keep her around."

"What are you talking about?" Ukai laughed. "Do you know how much she's helped the team?"

"Yes, she's a good player," Takeda lowered his eyebrows, "But I don't think she's a good influence on the team."

"A good influence?" Ukai snorted, defensive. He couldn't keep the bitter tone out of his voice as he continued, "The hell are you talking about? If you'd come to practice every once in a while, you'd see how much better they've gotten since she's been around." 

"I haven't been around as much because I was looking into her!" Takeda hissed, making Ukai pause. "As important as our playing ability is, so is our reputation, so I was asking around about her. And I don't think it's a good idea to keep someone like her around."

"Someone like her?" Ukai questioned, and Takeda's face grew somber.

"A few of the coaches around here know about her, and the ones in Tokyo certainly do. They've all heard about her. She got into a fight with her captain--a physical one--and refused to do anything her coach said. She's rebellious and volatile, and I don't think it's good to have someone around these high schoolers who could snap at any moment." Takeda threw his papers down on Ukai's pile. "Look, I get that you're into her, or whatever, but you have to think about the good of the team, not just yourself."

"Into her? Wait, the good of the team?" Ukai stood from his chair, mind whirling. "What makes you think I'm not thinking of the team? They're practically all I think about!"

"Then you should understand why she needs to leave!" Takeda shouted back earnestly. "Think about it! If the Tokyo teams heard we'd been practicing with her, they'd never let us come! Her fight was all some of the people I asked talked about! She'd ruin us before we even had a chance, and with our brand new title as champions, we can't afford that kind of scandal."

"Are you sure you can trust who you heard it from?" Ukai pressed. "She said her coach ruined other teams for her, that no one would take her."

"There were pictures," Takeda insisted. "They have proof."

A physical fight? Fujii had never mentioned that when she said why she left. Sure, she mentioned how her coach had spread rumors, but this was a serious accusation. Was she really capable of that?

_You have to think about the good of the team._

Could he afford to take that chance?

"Until Tokyo."

Takeda looked up from the floor, mouth set in a firm line. "What?"

"Until Tokyo, give us that." Ukai held out a hand, placating Takeda before he could start in again. "We'll use her until Tokyo, and then I'll get rid of her. Keep the fact that she's working with us on the down low, if you can. I swear, we can use her, and then I'll get rid of her myself, I promise."

Takeda raised an eyebrow. "If you need her so much, I thought you would have fought me harder on that."

Ukai shook his head, keeping his gaze fixed on the floor. "I don't need her."

After a pause, Takeda shrugged. "Fine. Finish looking that stuff over, I'll come back tomorrow." Without another word, Takeda left the gym, leaving Ukai to stare at the papers in front of him. Her handwriting was all over everything, and he couldn't seem to make himself stop staring at it.

Was there actually a fight? Fujii had always been quick to calm Tanaka down, and even quicker to deescalate fights before Hinata and Kageyama had stopped talking. She told him her old coach spread rumors, and in their weekly talks, confessed she missed her old teammates. Could she have really picked a fight with one of them?

He couldn't take that chance. Unless there was some way to out her old coach as a liar or disprove the pictures, Takeda was right. He had to think about his team's reputation. No one would practice with them ever again if they thought they supported that kind of behavior.

"Just gonna use me, huh?"

Ukai looked up quickly at the sound of Fujii's voice. She was in the doorway opposite where Tadeka left, pushing a whiteboard through. Her face was set, eyes narrowed as she continued, "Don't need me?"

Ukai's heart dropped. "How--how long were you there?"

"Long enough to hear that you're giving me the boot, soon." She shoved a whiteboard in the direction of the wall, walking over to him. "Long enough to hear you're using me and then dumping me as soon as you get the chance so you don't risk your team's precious reputation over a lie."

"What?" Ukai shook his head. "What are you--no, that's not what--"

"I heard you, Keishin!" She interrupted, gesturing to the door. "I heard Takeda telling you he believes all those lies and then you telling him you're just going to get rid of me! What's there to not get? Seemed pretty clear to me."

Ukai was frozen as he watched her, confused. "Did you call me Keishin?"

"Yeah," She huffed, "Have been for about a week now."

"I..." He trailed off uselessly, the fact somehow making him freeze. Why was that so different? What was different?

_I get that you're into her, or whatever._

_She's practically running practices, now._

_You miss just about everything else._

_It's all because of her._

All of those dinners. Every night they had gone out. That wasn't for coaching meetings. Even he could see it now. How had he gotten so distracted? Ukai whispered, "What are we doing?"

"What?"

Ukai gestured between the two of them, moving so he was only a couple feet from her. "Us. What are we doing?"

Fujii's face changed, shoulders dropping their defensive hunch. "We were falling in love. Thanks for finally noticing."

The world clicked and shifted into focus.

Ukai's heart stopped as his mind made the connections. Why he'd been so happy lately, why everything felt like it was working, why he was working equally with her when he had never let anyone run things before, why he was always taking her out to dinner--it all made sense. They were. They were falling for each other. How had he not seen it?

"And I thought that'd mean a bit more to you, but I guess it doesn't," Haru was continuing, arms still crossed. "Seriously, what the hell? I told you all about my team and everything that happened, and you still don't believe me!" Ukai's mind was whirling, trying to keep up with her while still rushing to catch up to his heart. "You know what that picture's of? It's me talking to my captain during a game, telling her which way the middle was hitting towards. We never fought, not once. My coach used that to spread to the other teams. No newspaper or blog would run the story because there was _no foundation for it_. Don't you see? Takeda doesn't trust me, and apparently neither do you!"

"Wait, I--"

"No, I'm done." Fujii raised her hands a took a few steps backwards. "I really thought we had something going here. Karasuno has improved incredibly, and they're well on their way to becoming the incredible team they were back with the Little Giant. We had something amazing. And so did you and I." She shook her head sadly, not breaking eye contact. "At least, I thought we did. But apparently, you can't think about anything other than this. There's more to life than this team, you know." Ukai frowned, still reeling, "Karasuno is all I have!" Her eyes narrowed. "Looks like your team isn't the only one who needs to learn some balance. Good luck with Tokyo, Keishin." With that, she turned towards the door.

Ukai, finally realizing what she had said, took two broad steps after her. "Fujii, wait!--"

The door slammed shut, echoing in the empty space. He stared after it with his heart sinking, feeling like he had just lost something before he ever really had it.

How had it taken him so long to see it?

Behind him, a door creaked open, quickly followed by a shout of surprise from Hinata. "It wasn't even locked!" In everything that had happened, Ukai had forgotten they were there. Kageyama shushed him, and after a couple more seconds, the two boys moved into their coach's line of vision. 

"Um, Ukai sensei?" Hinata started carefully. It was easy to see something had just happened while they were in the closet. "Are you okay?"

Ukai set his hands on his hips, still staring at the door as the weight of everything from the past two months finally crashed into him. "Nah, kid. No. This time, I think I really fucked up."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> petition for ukai to be in a hallmark movie pls


	3. i'm standing upright on my own

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love the third years so much they're great
> 
> i wrote all of this fic in 16 hours spare me if it's rushed

The weekend passed slowly. The two shifts where Haru was scheduled to work with Ukai, she didn't show up, and his grandmother only said that she had switched with someone else. Ukai sat at the desk with his feet up and a magazine in his hands, but all he could focus on was the ticking of the clock. Each minute that passed was another minute of how he tried to figure out when it had all changed--and he had missed it.

"You still sulking around?" His grandmother called out to him on Sunday evening as he locked the doors.

Ukai frowned. "I'm not sulking."

"You're not being a delight to have around, either," She answered brightly, and he sighed. It was only a matter of time before she'd give him some advice he didn't want--

"You haven't even asked after her."

"Who says it's about her?"

She grinned at him, leaning over the counter. "That answer was all I needed."

Ukai scowled at her, which only made her smile wider. Eventually, he looked away, moving to close out the register. "I'm sure she doesn't care about what I think."

His grandmother folded their aprons, humming, "I wouldn't be so sure." He tried to stop, but he couldn't help the pitiful spark of interest. Like she could sense it, his grandmother told him, "She may just be looking for an apology."

She left the room, leaving him staring down at the schedule that was posted on the back of the counter. Her name stared back tauntingly at him, as if it agreed with his grandma. Of course it would. She was always right, even if he'd never admit it to her. It was no surprise she had guessed it from the moment they hired Haru. 

_Oh, no, dear, you'll be around here for quite some time. Would you like to start Monday?_

The memory turned sour in his mind, and he flicked the lights off, determined not to follow that trail of thought. 

Monday afternoon brought the first practice without her. They started with warmups and a scrimmage, and as it ended, Tanaka took another desperate look around the gym.

"Is Fujii sensei coming?"

Ukai swallowed back the bitter bile that rose in his throat, but he could still see the way Hinata's eyebrows pinched together. "Nah, she can't make it." 

Ennoshita glanced around before asking tentatively, "Should we...set up the butterfly drill?"

Quickly, Ukai nodded. "Yeah, go ahead. You all know what you need to work on." He waved once, and the team moved out, easily setting up a drill they had to have done a hundred times by now. They were much better than they had first been, but whenever someone messed up, Ukai didn't miss the way they'd glance back on instinct, as if Fujii would be there to correct them. Nishinoya and Tanaka, who had improved the best under her, helped out the younger players, but it wasn't quite right. 

Tensely, Ukai called out the next drill, and forced himself not to think about her. It was next to impossible when as soon as he opened his folder, at least a dozen napkins fell out, all covered in her handwriting. He left them on the floor.

Tuesday came, and again, someone was asking about her.

He had really done a stellar job not thinking about her, he thought. Really, it had only been a few times every hour, which was an incredible improvement. It had been 32 minutes at this point, but here Suga was, breaking Ukai's streak.

"Is Fujii not coming tonight?"

With the way Kageyama paused before tossing the ball to another wing spiker, Ukai knew they'd been overheard. "No, she can't make it."

"Oh, that's a shame." Suga's brows drew together as he looked out to the court. "Will she be back soon?"

The question felt like a hot poker digging into the back of his chest. "Not sure." When Daichi gave him a look, he quickly clarified, "Something came up. Family, I think." 

The two shared a concerned look, but it was Asahi that asked, "Is...everything alright between her and Takeda?"

Ukai couldn't help the way his head snapped around to look at him. The taller boy blushed slightly before stuttering, "Sorry, sorry, I probably shouldn't have asked--"

"No, don't worry about it. You guys always know you can be honest with me." Ukai looked at the three of them. "What do you mean her and Takeda?"

"Well..." Suga started, then looked to his old captain for back up. Daichi shared his look, then turned to Ukai, speaking in softer tones.

"We noticed things had been a little tense between those two lately. They barely spoke at practices." His face turned concerned, "Did something happen?"

Ukai blinked. Yet another thing he had missed. Had those two really not gotten along for that long? "How long has that been going on?"

"They were fine at first, right?" Asahi looked to Suga, who nodded and told Ukai, "It was really only over the past week that we noticed anything."

"Oh. Huh." Ukai hummed and looked down at his feet. If what Takeda had been saying was true, it made sense. He probably would have found out about all that around that time. "They had...a bit of a disagreement, over her reputation on her old team."

"What, that her coach was a stiff who didn't listen to his players?" Suga snorted, then immediately widened his eyes when Ukai looked at him. "Sorry! Sorry, I mean, uh--"

"He was just--old fashioned!" Daichi rushed to cover up while Asahi blushed in sympathy. "Anyone who paid attention to the last few seasons knows that. I'm sure some coaches view it differently, but most of them know she was an amazing player."

"Scouted for the National and Olympics team, wasn't she?" Asahi confirmed, and Suga nodded in agreement before smiling apologetically at Ukai.

"That's all I meant. Rumors aside, she was great. I don't know why Takeda wouldn't think so."

"Besides, we're champions now!" Daichi beamed proudly. "If we had her with us, we'd look unstoppable! Who cares about a few rumors when we know the truth and see the proof ourselves? Look at the team." He gestured out to the court where Tsukishima pulled off a rather nice receive, to which Yachi and Hinata cheered loudly. "It's incredible what she's been able to fix over such a short time. The next time we see any of our old rivals, it'll be a very different game."

Ukai stared at his former players as they turned to talk about what it'd be like to face Shiratorizawa now. When did these high schoolers get so wise?

Of course a few rumors were never good, but Daichi was right. What did it matter? They knew the truth, and they'd prove she knew was she was doing. That should have been all that mattered. Of course, he could see where Takeda was coming from, especially with how recently they had just come back. 

Damn. He should have trusted her. Instead, he got too wrapped up in his head as usual. His grandfather would kill him.

"You know," Ukai started, bringing back the three's attention, "Something tell me this will all clear up soon."

Daichi grinned at him. "I hope so. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when we come back to Tokyo."

\-----

It took until the next Friday to see her again.

Practice had ended early today since Ukai had to cover a shift, and he stretched absentmindedly as he walked towards the store. His grandmother had called him last minute, asking if he could come close so she could drive one of her many grandchildren somewhere. Annoyed at how stagnant this weeks practices had felt, he agreed, eager for a change of scenery. Maybe he could use this time when the store was slow to go over some new play ideas. Of course, that meant going through Haru's old notes, but he was used to the sting that came with looking at them by now. It was always easier to push away the thoughts when he had something else to focus on. But, wasn't that what had gotten him in trouble in the first place?

The door jingled open, and a voice called out, "Hello, welcome!"

Ukai froze in the doorway, slowly lifting his head to look into the store. She stood near the back, trying desperately to reach something on a high shelf. Her back was to him, so she didn't see the way he practically dropped his bag as she called over her shoulder, "Can I help you find anything?"

In three massive steps, Ukai was behind her, reaching up to grab the paper towels she had been trying to get. He brought them down, barely breathing as she took them from him.

"Oh, thank you, I couldn't seem to--" 

Haru's voice cut off abruptly as she turned, grey eyes widening as they met his. They were only a foot apart, not much further than they usually stood when directing a drill, and about the same distance that was between them at dinners. He had forgotten how warmth radiated from her, how clean she smelled--the little things he had thought he missed all came rushing back at once. Really, her eyes were almost a dark enough grey to look blue, in the right light. He stared back down at her, swallowing before he almost whispered, "Not a problem."

At the sound of his voice, her eyes narrowed, and she took a hasty couple steps back, holding the paper towels protectively by her chest. "I thought Gram was closing tonight."

A quick shuffling of feet caught their attention, and they looked just in time to see a familiar pink, flowery apron flick through a doorway before it was slammed closed. Ukai's face flattened. "She had things to do, apparently." He could have sworn he heard her laughing, but maybe it was just his own mind, laughing at how she meddled without him ever realizing.

"Wonderful." Haru's flat voice drew his attention back to her, and she sighed as she moved towards the counter. He watched her go for a second before following, unsure of where to start. He knew he had to apologize, but how? How could you apologize for being quite possibly the most dense person on the face of the earth?

"Look, about the other day--"

"Please don't," She groaned, setting the paper towels down heavily. "You don't have to explain yourself. I get it that you don't believe me. It makes sense you'd trust one of your friends over some girl you just met."

"Some girl?" Ukai echoed, the disbelieving tone in his voice making her turn, confused. "You're not just some girl. You're an incredibly talented player, and I was ridiculous for thinking about anything else."

Haru crossed her arms, leaning her hip against the counter. "I'm listening."

Half a smile quirked his lips, and Ukai continued, planned apology flying out the window as he spoke. "It was dumb. Dumb, and stupid, and unfounded, especially when you had been so forthcoming from the beginning. You were honest and open in everything, and I was a fool to doubt you. I let myself get caught up in what was going on with the team and didn't even realize how entwined you were with that until you were gone." One of her eyebrows raised, and he took a few steps forward, hands spread openly.

"You're a part of the team. A damn important part, if I'm being honest with you. I didn't realize just how well you worked with those boys until one of them asked me about the angle of his hip to his fuckin' ankle." He drug a hand through his hair, laughing breathlessly. "I mean, how the hell do I answer that? I never learned any of that. But those boys need you if they're going to keep going. You've done so much for them, and they really need you. I--" He took a deep breath, rushing out, "I need you. On the court or off, it doesn't matter. But having you there...just makes things easier. Things make sense when you're around. And I need you to pick up on the little things I miss. I need you to remind me that I don't have to smoke after every third beer, and that sometimes my players have personal things and not just volleyball problems. And I need...I need you to remind me how lucky I am." He smiled at her, "I need you, Haru."

She hadn't moved during his whole speech, but at her name, both eyebrows shot up. They watched each other for a moment, Ukai growing more and more nervous the longer it dragged on. Was she going to say no? Had he said all that just for her to shoot him down?

"Let me think about it."

Ukai's smile dropped. "You need to think about it?" Instantly, she frowned, and he shook his head. "No, no, dumb question, of course! Of course you can think about it." He nodded quickly, "Take all the time you need. I'll be waiting."

Haru watched him for another second, then untied her apron and hung it behind the counter. "Give me the weekend, and then I'll let you know. Have a good close, Keishin." 

The door shut behind her, and Ukai stared at it until the clock chimed to let him know it was indeed closing time. On autopilot, he locked up, stomach settling into a tight knot that he knew wouldn't go away until she had given him an answer.

\-----

At Monday's practice, Takeda was avoiding him.

Which, honestly, was not helping the nervous energy built up in Ukai's shoulders. All day, he'd been jittery, waiting for Haru to appear at any moment to tell him she wasn't coming back and that she was in fact moving to a completely different country and would never see him again. Worst case scenario, of course, but it was the one his brain was insisting was going to happen. So, Takeda being flighty the whole practice was not helping.

"Takeda!" He finally called when the team moved into a drill where he wasn't needed. Cornered, Takeda turned slowly.

"Y-yeah?"

"Come here." Ukai crossed his arms and waited as Takeda moved to the back of the gym where Ukai was, hands toying nervously in front of him.

"Um, what can I help you with?"

Ukai raised a single eyebrow, and Takeda immediately broke down.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to try and hide from you like thisbutIthinkImadeamistake."

Ukai frowned. "Come again?"

Takeda took a deep breath before looking away. "I...think I may have made a mistake, regarding Fujii."

"Fujii?" Ukai perked up instantly. "What do you mean?"

"She...Oh, gosh." Takeda sighed heavily, focusing on his shoes as he spoke."I realize she and I may have gotten off on the wrong foot, but she was rather crass in her assessments." Ukai smirked. _He wasn't wrong._ Haru definitely had a way with words. Takeda continued, "So, I may have been a little more than probing when I was asking around about her, and apparently, one of her ex teammates got wind about me asking over the weekend. She approached me this morning, actually, and introduced herself as the captain that Fujii was supposedly fighting in those pictures. And..."

"And...?" Ukai prompted, making Takeda fidget with his glasses.

"And she explained everything. She told me about the disagreements with the coaching staff and how her advice was ignored and what all her coach had been doing behind the scenes. She thought the coaching opportunity was fantastic for her, and she wanted me to be sure we had picked one of the best people positive for the job." He rubbed the back of his neck, laughing in embarrassment. "So...I was definitely wrong about her. And now I realize just how ridiculous I was being a couple weeks ago."

Ukai let out a short laugh, setting his hand on Takeda's shoulder and startling him. "You and I were both fools, caught up in our team. It happens to the best of people."

"Yes, I suppose it does." Takeda smirked, looking at the team with a raised eyebrow. "We really do need her, don't we?"

As if on cue, a ball ricocheted off of Yamaguchi's arms and nailed Tanaka in the face, causing Nishinoya to flop to the ground in laughter.

Ukai sighed, the knot growing ever tighter in his gut. "We do. All we can do now is hope she comes back to us."

Monday ended without an answer, and on Tuesday morning, Ukai was a nervous wreck. Before practice, he spilled two cups of coffee, knocked over a stand at the store, and broke a pair of sunglasses before his grandma had kicked him out. He made his way to the gym early to try and work off some steam, only to find half the team already there.

Ukai dropped his bag on the floor in surprise, looking around as the sound echoed around. His team startled and looked over at him, Yamaguchi blushing in particular. Something about the set up seemed familiar...

"Are you doing a butterfly drill?"

"We are!" Hinata offered cheerily, gesturing to the rest of his teammates there. "We haven't been doing too well at them since--uh, for a while," He coughed unsubtly, then continued, "So we figured we might as well get some extra practice in to try and improve ourselves!"

Ukai smirked, looking at all of them. "Mind if I join in?"

Startled, Kageyama almost denied him. "What? N--Yes! Yes, of course, sensei." He tossed a ball to Ukai, who quickly jumped in. 

As the team filtered in, they joined as well, until they had enough people to have it going on both sides of the court again. Once he was a part of the drill. Ukai could feel some of the stress melting away, helped by the thoughts of playing. Focusing on getting the ball to a specific part of the court gave him something to distract himself with, and even the old third years hopped in as they showed up.

After an hour of playing around, Ukai set them up for more of their regular drills. Takeda, Daichi and Suga came to stand beside Ukai on the side of the gym by the doors as Asahi jumped up on a stool to hit at whoever was on the court. 

"So...no Fujii again tonight?" Suga asked carefully, and Ukai sighed. He should have known Suga would pick up on it.

"No--"

"Sorry I'm late!"

Every single person in the gym stopped to turn, Hinata getting hit with the ball as his mouth dropped open. Tanaka, completely oblivious to the fact that he had just almost taken Hinata's head off his shoulders, whipped around, eyes wide. "Fujii sensei?!"

Haru grinned, pulling on her volleyball shoes as she set her bag to the side. Somehow, she looked even better than Ukai remembered her. She pulled her hair back in a bun, smiling only at him as she called, "Got caught up in some stuff. Hope you all didn't miss me too much!"

"Welcome back!" Hinata screamed first, prompting the rest of the team to follow suit. She walked into the gym, and Takeda stepped in front of her. She tensed, saying politely, "Hello, Takeda."

Takeda bowed, making her eyes blink wide in surprise. He rushed out, "Fujii, I want to apologize for the things I said. I realize how foolish and rash my statements were, and if we--"

"Oh, God, no, please don't." Haru smiled awkwardly, waving him off. He straightened, confused. "Please, no more apologies. I've had just about enough of those lately." She shot a look to Ukai, "Besides, I understand. I think we're all on equal footing now, with everything out in the open."

"So you're coming back to coach us until Tokyo?" Tanaka called hopefully, and with a smile, Haru locked eyes with Ukai. He smiled softly at her, still in shock that she was here. _She came back._

"Longer, if Keishin here will have me."

Blatantly aware of the teenage boys behind him, Ukai tried to school his expression back under control, but lost hopelessly as the smile almost cracked his face in half. Relieved, he replied breathlessly, "You're welcome to stay as long as you want."

Haru grinned widely, not quite unlike his grandma had. "Something tells me I'll be around for quite some time." Ukai swallowed down his blush, clapping when Nishinoya began nudging Asahi and cooing. 

"Alright, alright, let's get back to practice! Ennoshita, set them up for serve receives!"

"Yes, Coach!"

Haru moved to take her place on the side of the court, but Ukai grabbed her by the elbow, pulling her back into him. Keeping his voice low--Yachi was a terrible eavesdropper--he asked, "Dinner? For real this time, now that I'm aware it's a date."

Haru laughed at him, patting him softly on the chest before she responded, "Yes, I think I'd like that." She took a few steps backward, grinning widely at him, and he smiled back, watching her all the way until she turned and almost ran into a ball cart on her way to correct Hinata's form.

Takeda sighed, putting his hands on his hips. "Am I going to have to deal with that all the time, now?"

Ukai watched her move, the tight coil unraveled completely into butterflies, the likes of which he hadn't felt since he was 14. "Nah, we'll calm down eventually."

Takeda rolled his eyes. "Wonderful. Wonder who'll take longer to get rid of their dopey smiles, you and Fujii or Kageyama and Hinata?"

Ukai whipped his head around. "What?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just decided i'm going to write another hallmark au for keishin. it'll be a flower shop this time.


End file.
